The invention relates generally to medical devices and procedures, and more particularly to medical devices for placing sutures, implants and/or grafts within bodily tissue.
Known suturing devices can be used in surgical procedures to anchor grafts, anchor implants and/or approximate bodily tissue. For example, some known suturing devices can be used to apply sutures to approximate, ligate and/or fixate bodily tissue during an endoscopic procedure. For example, some known suturing devices can be used in minimally invasive procedures for repair of various pelvic dysfunctions, including hysteroceles, cystoceles, rectoceles and vaginal vault prolapse.
Some known suturing devices are used to place sutures that include a thin filament with a needle at the end for piercing bodily tissue. Because of the small size of the filament and the needle, such sutures can be difficult and/or hazardous to use in conjunction with known suturing devices. Moreover, some known suturing devices are not configured to place alternate suture designs, such as, for example, needle-less sutures, implant anchors and/or sutures configured to dilate bodily tissue.
Thus, a need exists for a suturing device for anchoring grafts and/or implants. Additionally a need exists for a suturing device that can be used with different types of sutures and/or implants.